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Monday, 19 May 2008

Simple Wholemeal Bread

Made this wholemeal loaf a few days ago. It's a simple almost no frills everyday kind of bread. The steps involved in making this bread are quite easy. The only thing that you need is lots of time and patience. This bread uses a 'sponge dough' method...which requires 90mins of extra proofing time as compare to other breads that use the 'straight dough' method.

I read that the 'sponge dough' method would yield a softer bread texture. The crumbs was indeed light and soft, and the bread stayed fresh and soft for 3 days. I didn't even have to toast it before serving. It tasted great with my favourite blueberry jam, and I love the nice fragrance from the wholemeal flour. Even my kids, who don't really fancy any kind of wholemeal grains in their bread, didn't make a single complain :)

Mix the dry ingredients in (A) in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and add in the water. Mix by hand to form a soft dough. Place dough in a mixing bowl, cover with cling wrap and let it rise for 90mins.

Place the ingredients in (B) in the pan of the bread machine (according to the sequence as stated in the instruction manual of your bread machine). Add in the soft dough in Step 1.

Select the Dough function of the bread machine and press start. After about 8mins of kneading, add in the 15g of butter (Ingredient C). Let the machine continue to knead the dough. After the kneading cycle has stopped (20mins), Stop and Restart the machine. Continue to let the machine knead for another 10mins.

Stop the machine and place dough in mixing bowl, cover with cling wrap and let it rise till double in volume for about 60mins.

Remove dough and give a few light kneading on a lightly floured work surface. Press out the trapped air as your knead. Divide into 3 equal portions and shape into balls. Cover with cling wrap, let the doughs rest for 15mins.

Flatten and roll out each dough into an oval shape (20cm by 10cm). Roll up swiss roll style and pinch the seams in place. Place in a pullman tin (size, 7.5"x4"x4", well greased), seams side down. Cover the lid and let dough proof for 60mins or until the dough rise up to 90% of the height of the tin.

Hi Serena, I always slice the entire loaf at one go so that I don't have to do that again ;) So, I do not know whether to leave the remaining loaf uncut will keep it soft longer? However, I have recently started to keep my bread in an airtight container...it does help to prevent the bread from drying up. I can tell the difference between you and the other Serena, I can access her blog :)

Hi SSB, it's quite a good book as it caters to homebaking..easy, simple recipes. Most of the recipes require about 300g of bread flour...the amount is also just right for a small family. You can borrow it by online reservation (that was what I did) and it comes with a DVD too.

yeah.... HHB, after seeing all your wonderful bread making post. I also reserved that 孟老师的100道面包book from library. So that i can have a look at those wonderful recipes in details that you are sharing with us. Thank you so much for turning those recipes into such wonderful bread making posts... :)

Why cant we use the wholemeal fucntion in the bread making machine to bake instead of using the dough fucntion ? I tried using the wholemeal bread in your earlier blog (some time back) but my bread does not seem to rise.. why huh ? is it the yeast ? sob sob.. will try this method instead.thanks for sharing your recipes and method.

Ha..finally I've got your lovely wholemeal bread recipe here. I really like to try it and hopefully it works as my bread making skills is still very very poor. Thanks for sharing! Anyway, I hope you don't mind that I have put your link at my blog because you really one of my idol chef!

Hi Mamabliss, homemade breads will never get to keep long as there is no preservatives...I would think it's a trade off :(

Hi Mico, I have not used the wholemeal function! In fact, nowadays, I seldom bake breads using the full cycle. As I prefer to 'play' with the dough a little! If you have problem with the bread not rising, I suspect it has got to do with the yeast...maybe it is no more active?

Hi Kitchen Corner, you are making me blush! I won't consider myself a chef!! The food that I cooked are just edible...nothing great about it! I use Prima brand's wholemeal flour. I used to get Prima brand's bread flour too, but has since been using Harvest King's bread flour which I got on sales at NTUC.

I'm just so impressed with your baking. It really motivate me alots into baking. Thanks for being so giving as to share your recipe :) Otherwise, i wouldn't be able to appreciate the joy & fun of baking. Now I need to quickly go get myself a breadmaker to join in the bread making fun. I'm very excited and looking forward to the bread making journey.

hi HHB,Long time no see!! I finally bot the same brand of breadmaker as you - and would like to consult you (sorry i have so many questions!! you are the most experienced baker in my circle!!)

- I noticed that each time you use the dough function - you will always add ten more min of kneading (ie, after 20 min kneading ends, restart and let it knead 10 min more) - is there any reason for this? would there be any difference in the dough if we choose to take it out after 20 min, or let it knead for 2 whole cycles (ie a full 40 min?)

and,must we keep taking out a piece of dough throughout the 20 min (or extra 10min) to check for that "dough membrane" or "dough window" thing?

Also, have you ever encountered this - when the dough comes out after the kneading it is still rather sticky? what do i do if the dough is rather sticky after 20 min kneading? (and couldn't get the dough window to appear!!)

thanks so much for sharing all your recipes - i really learnt a lot from you!

Hi Canton Pixie, you are the second person today to tell me that you have bought the bread machine :DI always let the machine knead for an extra 10mins as the dough is usually quite sticky after 20mins of kneading...especially for recipes that yield very soft bread. Most of the time it would not pass the pane test. (You will only need to do the pane test after the 20min kneading cycle. You need not do it throughout.) I have read that over kneading the dough will cause other problems, as such I simply let the machine knead for 30mins. Sometimes for certain recipes, the dough would still feel sticky even after 30mins of kneading, even then, I would usually proceed to let it proof. Sometimes, after the first proofing, the dough would become less sticky. Hope I have answered your questions. Do let me know if you have other queries. Happy Baking!

oh thanks HHB!! that really helps. OK, so can I assume that for our breadmaker - the DOUGH setting only kneads for 20 min and after that, the remaining 1 hr 10 min is all proofing time? (i understand that not all breadmakers knead the same amount of time). ie it doesnt re-knead after proofing, right?

btw, i had problems getting the breadmaker - it's constantly "sold out" - and i believe it's all to your credit! :)

Hi HHB, May I know how long you knead the mixture (A)? What is the consistency after kneading? I'm not sure whether I've over kneading it or not enough kneading because the dough is quite sticky. Can you give me an advise? Thank you!

Hi Vien, yes, 130g of watere should be the same as 130ml. The possiblity of a dry dough could be the type of bread flour or wholemeal flour used as certain flour has higher levels of water absorption. So everytime I knead by hand, I will have to adjust the liquid accordingly. Thanks for the info on the Lock & Lock mat...will have to keep a look out for it :)

Hello, I just recieved my copy of Meng Laoshi's bread book....can't wait to try out her recipes....ordered it (HK 140)and the 65F Bread book (HK 133) from online HK website: 66emart.com....since the airmail postage is very expensive to send to the US, I requested surface mail....They don't show these books on their site but I emailed and they got these for me (from other stores and sold to me at cost) and send them together with the other books I wanted. I think shipping to SG shd be much cheaper.

hallo HHB,i've more questions!! just tried your recipe - not tasted the bread yet, but it sure smells nice!!

i waited till the bread proofed to 90% of the tin, but after baking, it didn't fill up the entire tin and make a complete square like yours. .. do you think I did anything wrong? i followed all the instructions religiously leh..

Hi Canton Pixie, I guess it could be the oven temperature. Do make sure your oven is pre-heated, and maybe next time you can bake at a slightly higher temperature. Since all oven operates differently, you may have to try and error a bit. Hope this helps.

I usually let the loaf cool off completely before slicing, and I use a serrated knife. I used to keep the bread in a plastic bag, tied loosely, until I got a air-tight container. which I think is a good way to keep the bread soft for 2-3 days. Hope this helps.

One more thing to check with you..i tried out the milk loaf, it is so good. im a lazy bum.. so i just throw everything into the breadmaker and it turned out not bad too.

I want to know how if i want to make a bigger loaf(1kg) for both wholemeal/milk bread using ur recipe ? i use 500g option in the breadmaker, i can only slice out the most 12 pieces, not enough for one breakfast for my family member of 4 :)

Hi Mico, great to hear that your bread turns out well! I think you can experiment it by doubling the portion, the only problem could be not enough kneading by the bread machine. So you may want to let the machine do the initially kneading, then stop it and restart the cycle. Do let me know if this works :)

Thanks. So, for 250g bread flour i can use 500g option, if i want to bake 1kg is that mean i should times 2--> 500g bread flour ? it makes sense ?

Im using kenwood breadmaker. when i restarted the machine, it does not go back to original, it will continue from the timing where i stopped. That's why i have problem using your method to restart the machine for more kneading.

From some bread machine cookbook, I noticed that for a small loaf (500g/1 lb) it uses about 300g flour; for a Large Loaf (750g/1.5lb) it uses 475-500g flour; whereas for an Extra Large loaf, (1kg/2 lb) it uses 625-675g of flour...so u can use this as a gauge to decide which loaf size to use. I am using a cheapo brand bread machine from carrefour ;p10. it will be good if u can get hold

Hi Happy Homebaker, I baked this loaf twice using a pullman tin but twice I couldn't get a square loaf, even though the final proofing was nicely proofed to about 90% :( The first time I thought because I didn't take note of the temperature cos I baked at abt 170C. But the second time I still couldn't get a square loaf. Is yours the same?

Nonetheless the bread was soft for a few days. And I finally acquried this book! :)

Hi Aimei, I was able to get a square loaf. I think it is likely due to your oven temperature. Do make sure your oven is well pre-heated. The dough will expand very fast once it goes into the oven. As such the oven has to be hot enough. So when will you be trying out the recipes from the book?

Hi Michelle, I dont see any problem with shaping them into buns. However, please take note that texture of buns tend to be slightly denser as compared to sliced sandwich bread. Do let me know after you have tried it :)

Hi HHB, I have tried your recipe on the milk loaf and it was fantastic, my children simply just love it even on its own. Now will like to try on the wholemeal loaf, as the recipe calls for 2 sets of dough, can you tell me how I should do because I will be using hand kneading instead of the bread machine. Yet to invest on one yet. Thanks

Hi Ann, glad to hear that you and your family love the milk loaf :DOk, for this recipe, just follow step 1 accordingly. When it comes to step 2, place the dry ingredents in (B) in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre. Place the dough from step 1 in the centre and add in the water. Mix by hand to form a dough. Then transfer to a work surface and knead the dough till it is smooth and elastic and no longer sticks to your hand. Proceed as per step 4. Hope this helps.

Hi HHB,Thanks for sharing this great recipe. I got the right texture finally. I just like to ask for a permission from you whether I can link this page to my blog under your blog name to share this recipe? That's absolutely fine if you don't wish to ok. Once again, thank you so much for the recipe. Cheers!

Hi Ling, I didn't buy the book, I borrowed it from the library. I'm sorry I have not any books online, maybe you can do a google search, I am sure you can find a relevant link. Sorry I am not of much help here.

Hi, wheat flour can come in different forms...plain flour, cake flour, bread flour all are wheat flour. As for wholemeal flour it is also known as Whole Wheat Flour. I am not sure whether you have got Whole wheat flour? or just normal plain flour? You can read about the different types of flour here: (http://www.foodsubs.com/Flour.html#whole wheat)

Hi Peiling, to make by hand, follow step 1 as above. As for step 2, mix all the dry ingredients in (B) in a mixing bowl. Add the soft dough in step 1 and add in the water. Mix by hand to form a dough. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface and knead the dough till it becomes smooth. Add the butter to the dough and continue to knead until the dough becomes smooth and no long sticks to your hand. Proceed as step 4. Hope this helps.

Hi, may i ask what is the purpose of the milk powder in this recipe? Can i dont use it? Or is there another substitute? Cos the recipe only needs 10g of milk powder but the supermkt sells in larger quantity n is expensive. Thks :)

Hi Anonymous,Follow Step 1. For Step 2, place the dry ingredients in (B) in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and add in the water. Mix to form a rough dough. Then knead in the soft dough in Step 1. Transfer dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead the dough continuous for about 10mins until the dough becomes smooth. Knead in the Ingredient (C). Continue to knead the dough until it becomes smooth, elastic and no longer sticks to your hand. (Test by stretching a small piece of dough, it should be able to stretch into a thin membrane without breaking easily.)Continue as Step 4. Hope this helps.

Hi, Thanks for sharing this recipe. I tried making this yesterday using my KitchenAid with dough hook. It turned out really nice and soft, except that it did not fill the bread tin (7.5" X 4" X 4". By the time the bread cooled down, it was half the height of the bread tin. I wonder what went wrong ...

Hi Janice, yes I baked it with the lid on (in order to get a square loaf). Maybe you need to adjust the rack position so that the pullman tin is in the middle of the oven/or the top is closer to the heating element? My oven has got only one set of heating coil at the top, and it is very small, so the top of my pullman tin is quite near to the heating coil, so I didnt have the problem.

Hey there. The rack position is already in the middle. My oven has two heating element which is upper and lower heating element. So should I increase the temperature or bake it longer without increasing the temperature? Beside that, when you bake it the lid got to be fully covered right? Sorry for asking so many question. Still kinda new to all this.

Hi Janice, I can't comment on the baking temperature/timing as all ovens work different, you will need to test it out to understand how your oven works. Maybe for a start you can increase the top temperature since you only had problem with the top not browning. Yes, the lid has to be closed fully, otherwise some part of the dough will rise above the lid during baking. Alternatively, you can try baking without the lid to see how it goes. Hope this helps :)

Hi Jasmine, I suggest that you don't increase the bread flour, just omit the milk powder. You can replace the water with same amount of milk (fresh milk will do), if not just use water will do. Happy baking!

Hi HHB, I tried this recipe yesterday and it turn out so good although I omit the milk powder and replace the water with milk. Thumbs up :) I will try again the recipe but this time I will using milk powder and change the water to milk. I think it be better.

I can't find any wholemeal flour here in Sabah so i just used wholemeal bran instead. Is it the same? Anyway, it still tastes great. Soft and fluffy homemade wholemeal bread. I find the bread way too salty to my liking. Do you think that i can reduce the salt to 1/2 tsp? Please advise.

Hi Sally, wholemeal bran is different from wholemeal flour. I dont think you can do a direct replacement, the dough may turn out too dry. You can try reduce the salt amount, but I am not sure whether it will affect the result, as salt is used in bread making not just for taste. Sorry, seems like I am of not much help, as I am really not a professional baker.

hi HHB,i'm very very happy because all this while my bread making is totally a failure..until a few weeks ago i brought a kitchenaid stand mixer and i use this recipe of yours to test the bread baking. thanks god, it is a success!! soft and springy.. i did change a bit of your ingredient in changing the water to milk and wholemeal flour to wholewheat flour.. thank you for sharing these recipe.

Hi, I just came across your blog and tried out the recipe...and it didn't work though I tried it twice! I'm not quite sure what I'm doing wrong, but the dough doesnt fill up the tin during baking, and during the proofing it smells very strongly of yeast and alcohol. Could it be due to under kneading or over proofing? I kneaded the bread by hand for 1 hour the second time, and it still had the same results...sorry but do you know why it might be so?

Hi Kevin, is this the first time you are making bread? If not, did you have similar problem with other recipes? Did the dough double in size during the first proof? How long did it take to rise? usually it should take about 60mins under room temperature 28-29degc. Was it during the first or second proofing that the dough gives off a strong yeast smell? Usually this is the result of over proofing. During the second proof, did the dough rise up to at least 90% of the height of the tin? If that was so, the bread should fill up the tin after baking. What about the ingredients you used? What kind of yeast did you use? Did you use instant yeast? or active dry yeast? For instant yeast, it can be mixed with the other ingredients directly, whereas for active dry yeast, you need to mix with some water before it would activate. Did you follow the instructions on the package? Sorry for all the questions as I am not able to find out what went wrong without the details on how you went about making it. Hope you dont mind.

Hi, thanks so much for the prompt reply! So sorry that I didn't include much details about my bake.

Yea, it was the first time I baked bread, or rather first two times. I used SAF instant yeast, the relatively affordable ones in brown packaging, wholemeal flour from Prima and bread flour from Bake King. I'm pretty sure the yeast isn't the sort that needs to be dissolved, and yea I followed what it said on the packaging.

The dough rose really nicely during the first proof and even rose quite obviously during the 15minute rest. It only gave off the yeast smell during the second proofing in the tin, and it didn't rise more than 1/2 the size of the tin. The finished product (I hesitate to call it bread, haha) also didn't adhere together, as in, the parts where the dough was rolled in a manner like a roulade could still be unravelled. The 3 individual portions also didn't stick together firmly. I'm wondering if it could be my kneading, because quite honestly I have no idea how to knead bread and only referenced from youtube videos.

Thanks so much! I'm trying again this weekend but was rather worried that I would waste more flour. Hopefully with your advice it would work out...

Hi Kevin, looks like there is nothing wrong with the ingredients since the dough is able to rise nicely during the first proofing. How long did you let the dough proof the second time, it seems like you may have over proof it. When you roll the doughs, you need to roll it up as tightly as possible, ie make as many rolls as possible. Hope u know what I mean?Then, pinch the seams tightly to seal it. Place the doughs seam side down into the bread pan.After the second proof, the dough should rise up to almost the brim of the pan, this will usually take 50-60mins. Refer photo on this blog post (http://happyhomebaking.blogspot.com/2010/09/back-to-basics.html)My pullman tin size is about 7.5"x4"x4". Did you use a bigger pan than this? The amount of dough for this recipe is only able to fill up this pan size. Could it be that you use a bigger pan?

Hi, when you mentioned pinch the seams, do you mean the seams at the side? I think I might have proofed it for too long the second time...and my tin is of the same dimension, so that shouldn't be a problem. Thanks anyway! will try it out again.

hi oursummerlovee, you can use you stand mixer, however, I do not know the speed that you need to select and the time required. I would like to suggest that you follow other recipes that make use of a stand mixer, I worry you may over knead the dough.

Dear HHB, I have a few questions. 1) Mentioned to divide into 3 portions.Mine did not managed to get a total square like yours, placing all 3 in the tin.2) Outer crust turns out very hard yet crispy. May i know whether you baked the whole with the lid on?I did it with the lid on, however couldn't get the browning that i wanted. I took it off and baked additional 10mins. The colour was perfect but the top turns out hard, soft inside.

Hi Starlet-scarlet, I baked the loaf with the lid on. You may let the dough proof until it almost reach the rim of the tin before you send it to the oven, this way, the dough will expand and fill up the entire tin to make it a square loaf. Also, it could be the size of your tin, maybe it is slightly bigger? The hard crust is due to your extended baking timing. What you can do is, bake it at a higher temperature, 200degC for 30mins instead. Hope this helps :)

Hi Captain EggCupcake, sorry to hear that this recipe didnt work for you. Yes, the dough is very wet and sticky, since it is a asian-type of soft bread. Did you knead by hand? If yes, you will need to knead it continuously for at least 30-40mins until the dough no longer sticks to your hands, becomes smooth and elastic. Initially, the dough is just a sticky mess, you will need to use a dough scraper to help scrape it from your work surface as you knead.

Thank you for this recipe. Instead of by hand, I mixed ingredient A with my kitchenaid mixer (with a dough hook) for 5 mins. Let it proof for 90 mins as per your recipe. Then place everything (ingredient A + B + C) into the breadmaker & voila! A perfect loaf!